Vibrational Analysis of Cracked Hooks

Emilio Cordoba Janssen

Eduardo Farinazzo Gama
Marcus Vincius Manfrin de Oliveira Filho

Universidade Positivo, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Curitiba, Brazil
e-mail: emilio9245@yahoo.com.br

Abstract: It is well known that the presence of cracks modifies the dynamic responses of
structures. Also, the use of hooks is one of the preferred methods for load lifting and handling,
and several failures and accidents involving crack propagation in this equipment have been
reported. Although predictive and prognostic maintenances of hooks are desired for industrial
applications, the study of vibrational behavior of cracked hooks is still incipient. In the present
work, a tridimensional model of a hook was made computationally through the finite element
method. In this model, cracks with different depth and positions were inserted in the higher
stress concentration site. The different simulated scenario allowed the study of the damage
influence over the hooks natural frequencies and mode shapes. It was found that some
vibrational modes are more sensitive to the damage than others: the fourth natural frequency
and mode shape were the most affected, followed by the fifth and sixth ones. Based on the
results found, a method for crack identification based on the natural frequencies and mode shape
shifts detected in damaged hooks can be developed.
Keywords: Modal analysis, mode shape, hook, natural frequency, crack

Introduction
The need for handling and lifting of loads in works, industries and ports presents an increasing
demand. Equipment such as cranes and overhead cranes are commonly used to perform such a
function. These equipments are provided with hoisting hooks, which, in most cases, carry out
full load support, as well as all equipment. They must be in full operating condition, ie, without
any wear or structural damage. The use of these equipment in an incorrect way can lead to
serious accidents, both of equipment and involving the safety of the workers.
The appearance of cracks in structures is related to several factors, such as fatigue of the
component due to high cycles of loading and unloading until the structure is exposed to
overload. In recent years, several methods of non-destructive analysis have been developed, but
there is still no method applicable to all structures. One of the most recent non-destructive
methods used for crack detection is the modal analysis of structures combined with optimization
problems, since cracks change the mechanical properties of the structure (stiffness and
damping) [1-3]. The objective of this work is to study the vibrational properties of hooks with
different cracks, as a preliminary study in order to develop a methodology for crack
identification in these structures.

Computational Procedure
A three-dimensional model of the hook commonly used by hook manufacturers, designed from
the standard DIN 150 401, was obtained from the CAD platform. The component was imported
into commercial software Ansys 17.2, where the mechanical properties, mesh characteristics,
dimension of the elements and the contour conditions of the problem were applied. With the
computational model built, it was possible to calculate the natural frequencies of the hook
without the presence of damages and with the presence of cracks. The crack was introduced
into the inner radius of the hook as shown in Figure 1. A total of twenty different scenarios
were analyzed through the finite element method, varying crack positions and depths.

Figure 1 Crack position

Results and Discussion

The first six natural frequencies calculated can be seen in Table 1. It can be observed that the
first two frequencies have very close results, but are associated with different modes of
vibration.
Table 1 - Natural Frequencies.
 The first six modes of vibration for the hook with crack were analyzed. Some of them
are weakly influenced by the presence of crack, while others suffer a significant influence from
the damage. Figure 2 shows the first six vibrational modes of the hook with cracks.
.

Figure 2 - Vibration modes

The results of the six natural frequencies for each scenario are shown in Figure 3. It can
be seen that the fourth natural frequency is most affected by breathing crack, followed by the
fifth and sixth. The first, second and third natural frequencies that are not so sensitive to this
type of cracks in this region. The bigger the crack, the lower the stiffness of the structure and,
consequently, the lower the natural frequency calculated.

Figure 3 Natural frequencies calculated.

The numerical results presented in Figure 3 can be also verified in Table 2, where the
relation of the geometric configuration of the crack with the first six frequencies obtained by
the model is demonstrated.
Table 2 Scenario of frequencies found.
Conclusions
The results of the simulations made clear the variation of the vibrational behavior of the
hooks when their stiffness is affected by the presence of crack. The change in the vibration
modes and natural frequency is proportional to the magnitude of the damage: the deeper the
crack, the greater the difference in the value of natural frequencies. For the hook analyzed and
with the boundary conditions adopted, the fourth mode of vibration presented greater sensitivity
to the localized damage, followed by the fifth and sixth mode.

References
[1] Richardson, M.H. Detection of damage in structures from changes in their dynamic (modal)
properties, A Survey, US, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC, 1980.
[2] Moezi, S. A.; Zakeri, E.; Zare, A.; Nedaei, M., 2015, On the application of modified cuckoo
optimization algorithm to the crack detection problem of cantilever EulerBernoulli beam,
Computers and Structures, 157, pp. 42-50.
[3] Owalabi, G.M., Swamidas, A.S.J., Seshadri, R. Crack detection in beams using changes in
frequencies and amplitudes of frequency response functions, Journal of Sound and Vibration
265 (2003) 1-22.